


answer

by bakkai



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, because hot limit exists, i don't know how to tag sorry, marriage talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27243472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakkai/pseuds/bakkai
Summary: Niki noticed Rinne hadn't kissed him anymore since that last live.
Relationships: Amagi Rinne/Shiina Niki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 94





	answer

**Author's Note:**

> idk who told me i could write??what is a beta

"Can I kiss you?"

"No, we'll have to leave that until after marriage."

Ever since he said it, Rinne made a point to not kiss Niki anymore.

At first, Niki didn't notice it. Rinne was still so touchy-feely with him, casually hugging him and holding his hand and giving him that headlock-and-noogie combo he liked so much and Niki absolutely hated. They were still sleeping on the same bed, he still held him from behind and snuggled his face onto Niki's neck and sighed contentedly before drifting off to sleep.

He only really realized Rinne's lips hadn't been anywhere near his face one moment when he was cooking, Rinne hugging him from behind, resting his head on Niki's shoulder. Like it or not, he was fond of this man, and his face being this close to Niki's made him want to just lean over and give him a smooch. It was just natural, but when Niki moved his head closer to Rinne's, the older man pointedly let go of him and walked off like his lover wasn't just about to give him a kiss.

What?

"Unlike you to step away from a kiss," Niki furrowed his brows, "you're usually the one smothering me."

Rinne was already lying on the sofa, idly looking through his phone, seemingly bored. "What did I say about kisses?"

"Huh?" He took off the pan from the heat, not really paying much attention to his cooking now that Rinne got him confused. He shoveled a spoonful of his still piping hot cooking to his mouth, not even bothering to put it down onto a plate first, hoping the calories gained from the food would somehow be converted into brain cells so he could understand what Rinne was referring to. "Come again?"

"What did I say about kisses last time?"

"That's not what I-" he exasperatedly gobbled another spoonful, and another, all while trying to even recall what it was. It seemed like his brain really was powered by food, as halfway through clearing out the pan his brain started working again and he finally remembered that exchange. "Is this about the marriage thing?"

Rinne finally looked up at him, wiggling his eyebrows with a sly smile on his face. "Atta boy!"

Of course. It seemed like such an obsession to this guy - marriage. Proposing his love every day, calling Niki his wife all the time, asking Niki to marry him non-stop. He didn't know if it was just the age factor (no way, he's still in his early twenties!), or if it was a tradition thing from his tribe? Was he pressured by the elders there to get married soon? He's the monarch anyway, it's only natural for him to have to get a spouse soon. But was it even alright for him to marry a man in the first place? Seeing how adamant he was about it, it seemed like the answer was yes, but still.

Niki didn't want to marry him for just some fickle reason. Wasn't marriage supposed to be special? Why throw those words to someone when you don't really mean it?

He was just an ordinary boy. One that happened to pick up this guy from the streets on a bad day. If it wasn't him, it would've been somebody else.

And if it had been somebody else, Rinne would be proposing to that person too, he was sure.

To promise to marry someone just because you want to repay them, just because you're thankful. Was it really such a good reason?

Even now, even though Rinne had said how much he loved Niki even beyond the original gratitude he felt for him, even though Rinne promised to make him happy, even though Rinne had said he'd fallen in love with him for real.

Niki still had a hard time sometimes.

Perhaps it was the low self-esteem speaking, but what if he was just confusing it all with gratitude, familiar feeling, enjoying what they have?

"Niki?"

His voice brought him back to earth. "Ah- yes?"

"Ya dropped yer spoon."

...right. He looked at his hand which was holding nothing, and at the floor where the spoon and a little bit of food had fallen off, making a little mess. He let out a sigh and grabbed a paper towel, squatting down to clean up the mess.

"Y' good?" Rinne was still looking at him, brows raised. "Look, if ya really hate me that much just say it! I'll punch yer lights out but at least I'll know for sure."

Niki was glad he was crouching and hidden by the kitchen counter. "I don't! If I hated you I would've thrown you out, you know that. If I hated you I wouldn't try to kiss you."

A beat. Niki had finished cleaning by this point, but he still stayed in his position, facing the counter. "I just don't think of marriage is all. It's... well there's a lot of things in my mind about things like that, okay? It's not legal in this country, I'm still under 20 so we'd have to get my parents' permission and I don't even know how that will go, and sometimes I'm not sure if you really want me to marry you because you love me or because you're just grateful, and I-"

"Haah?" Rinne cut him off before he could ramble further. "What's that about me not loving ya? Y' really think I dunno my own feelings?"

"I'm not saying that, it's just-"

"Yes ya are! Curb ya insecurity, we've been living together for what now, four years? And ya really think I wouldn't know by now that I wanna marry ya forreal? It ain't a joke. I really do want us to get married, y'know. 'Cuz I'm really in love with ya n' all."

Niki was sure he was making the weirdest face. He continued to stare a hole into the ground, unsure what to do.

"I've been serious since the beginning, Niki. Thought by saying that I'd be giving ya a push."

"Push to what?"

"To get ya to agree to marry me... y'know, make ya so deprived of kisses that ya get desperate and accept my proposal."

"...you're so stupid, Rinne-kun."

But he was too, for falling in love with this guy.

"Love makes ya stupid."

He heard him stand up.

"No, I think it's natural for you. We're practically married anyway, living together like this, so why does it even matter. Why make it complicated with the whole marriage thing."

Footsteps.

"Right, so why not?" Rinne's arms circled around his body, he felt warmth as his back was pressed softly against Rinne's body. His breath tickled when Rinne got closer to his ear and whispered, "why not marry me, Niki?"

He still couldn't look at him, not with the way his face was flushed, not with his heart pounding, he couldn't formulate an answer. Every worry that he had, if it was Rinne, he would tackle it all with that easy-living style of his, right? He probably would tell Niki to stop worrying, that it was a waste of energy to think about complicated things like that - he always has his way, after all.

Instead of thinking further, he turned his head, leaned over, shut his eyes so he didn't have to look at Rinne, and closed the gap between their lips, finally doing what he'd been wanting to do from the start. It hadn't been that long since the last time they kissed, but every moment deliberately depraved of it was agonizing enough without having to think about the reason why he was deprived of it in the first place. His chest felt like it was about to burst, but Rinne tightened his hug around him and he was finally kissing him back and it just felt right, felt so good that Niki caught himself almost chasing back when his partner broke away from the kiss.

They stared at each other for a bit, Niki just having conflicted feelings all over while Rinne just looked unreadable, but then he broke into his smile. Somewhat cocky, but very genuine. The type of smile he only showed to Niki.

"Is that your answer then?"

If only it was that easy. Those worries still existed in Niki's head, and of course there were just many other things he would have to think back through. But at that moment, looking at his partner's smile, thinking back to all the things they've gone through together, all the good times they've had together, all the love they shared. The answer really was just that easy.

Niki leaned in again, confirming his answer.

Yes.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry to subject u to my ""writing""


End file.
